Agenda item

9.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Paul Turpin, and formally seconded by Councillor Alexi Dimond, that:-

This Council notes:-

(a)      Sheffield City Council (SCC) has declared a Climate Emergency and has an ambition to become a zero-carbon city by 2030;

(b)      in 2019, The Tyndall Centre produced a report stating that Sheffield City Council must reduce its carbon emissions by 14% each year to achieve zero carbon by 2030;

(c)      the latest 2022 CO2e emissions data indicates that Sheffield City Council has reduced emissions by 3% since 2019, and needs to reduce emissions by a further 77% by 2030 to be in line with the Sheffield-wide 80% reduction on 2019 emissions that the Pathways to Decarbonisation Report suggested could be achievable by 2030;

This Council believes:-

(d)      Green involvement in the Council Administration has been central to the climate action the Council has taken: from introducing Climate Impact Assessments, to the creation of the Ten Point Plan for Climate Action, to ensuring major schemes like Connecting Sheffield and the Clean Air Zone progress in the face of political opposition;

(e)      that unrelenting action to tackle the climate emergency is the only way to achieve zero carbon by 2030, and the Council should be working at all Policy Committees on urgently reducing emissions;

This Council resolves to:-

(f)       ask the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee to consider adding to its work programme, implementation of a workplace parking levy to leverage funding for active and public transport at comparable levels to Nottingham City Council, who raised around £680 million over 10 years;

(g)      request the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee to consider adding to its work programme, development of an advertising policy which does not support high carbon industries and products harmful to people and nature, such as promoted by Adfree Cities;

(h)      request the Economic Development and Skills Policy Committee to consider adding to its work programme, the completion of the Green Jobs and Skills Strategy initiated by Greens during the Cooperative Executive;

(i)       call on the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to make more funding available for Green Skills;

(j)       remind all Policy Committees to ensure the Climate Impact Assessment is used to develop all SCC decisions and actions;

(k)      ask the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee to consider adding to its work programme, an update on progress against the Renewable Energy strategy proposed by Greens in November 2022’s full Council meeting;

(l)       ask the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee to consider adding to its work programme as a matter of urgency, investigation of the practicalities of issuing Green Bonds to raise extra funding to support climate action;

(m)     ask the Member Development Working Group to consider how to ensure effective Climate Literacy training for all Members; and

(n)      ask the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee to consider adding to its work programme, requiring all Policy Committees to set targets and prove they are reducing emissions across the portfolio, including publication of any increases.

9.1.1

(NOTE: With the agreement of the Council and at the request of the mover of the Motion (Councillor Paul Turpin), the Motion as published on the agenda was altered by the substitution of the words “ask the Member Development Working Group to consider how to ensure effective Climate Literacy training for all Members” for the words “ensure that all Councillors undertake Climate Literacy training, and to ask the Member Development Working Group to oversee the delivery of that training” in paragraph (m) of the Motion.)

9.2

Whereupon, it was formally moved by Councillor Minesh Parekh, and formally seconded by Councillor Craig Gamble Pugh, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.       the insertion, in paragraph (a), of the words “and a Nature Emergency” after the words “Climate Emergency”;

2.       the addition (at the end of the section “That this Council notes”) of new paragraphs (d) to (f) as follows:-

(d)      that public transport has a crucial role to play in addressing the climate emergency and welcomes plans to bring buses and trams under public ownership, and measures the Council is taking to encourage active travel;

(e)      that Olivia Blake MP has brought the Climate and Ecology Bill to Parliament with cross-party support; the Bill is drafted by many of the UK’s leading climate and ecology scientists and is the only piece of proposed or existing legislation that would tackle the intertwined climate and nature crises together;

(f)       the pioneering work of the Council and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority in developing green jobs and skills, including with the new Investment Zone – strengthening our advanced manufacturing and building on the success of the Innovation District in the Lower Don Valley;

3.       the re-lettering of the original paragraphs (d) and (e) as new paragraphs (g) and (h);

4.       the addition (within the section “That this Council believes”) of new paragraphs (i) to (k) as follows, and the re-lettering of all further paragraphs accordingly:-

(i)       that the Government has utterly failed to provide the necessary funds to tackle the climate emergency;

(j)       that Sheffield’s progress is comparable with other core cities and there has been notable successes including cross-party support for climate action the Council has taken: from introducing Climate Impact Assessments, to the creation of the Ten Point Plan for Climate Action, to ensuring major schemes like Connecting Sheffield and the Clean Air Zone progress, and notes the work currently underway to futureproof our city’s workforce, including the Council-funded upskilling of plumbers and heating engineers in air source heat pump technologies;

(k)      that to reach net zero, the Council should undertake more cross-cutting work, and that requiring Policy Committees to set targets in isolation risks creating siloed working;

5.       the deletion of original paragraph (i); and

6.       the deletion of original paragraph (n).

9.2.1

(NOTE: With the agreement of the Council and at the request of the mover of the Amendment (Councillor Minesh Parekh), the Amendment as circulated at the meeting was altered by the deletion of the word “other” from paragraph (d) in Part 2 of the Amendment.)

9.3

It was then formally moved by Councillor Andrew Sangar, and formally seconded by Councillor Robert Reiss, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.       the addition (at the end of the section “That this Council notes”) of a new paragraph (d) as follows:-

(d)      media reports regarding the Labour Party’s recent backtrack on a £28bn Green Investment Fund;

2.       the deletion of the original paragraphs (d) and (e);

3.       the addition (within the section “That this Council believes”) of new paragraphs (e) to (h) as follows, and the re-lettering of all further paragraphs accordingly:-

(e)      that, despite cross party support for net zero, progress has been slow due to the lack of the very substantial investment required to make significant carbon savings, the slow pace of transformation of industries, particularly energy, transport and land use and a dearth of compelling offset opportunities;

(f)       the substantial cash investment required alongside other demands on public funds mean that strong economic growth is required in Sheffield and elsewhere, alongside technological innovation to reduce carbon emissions in better ways;

(g)      the failure of Labour and Green councillors to vote for a food waste recycling service represents an unfortunate missed opportunity to reduce carbon emissions;

(h)      South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority foot dragging over bus franchising and failed bus partnerships have delivered an inferior bus service to the people of Sheffield and kept people in their cars;

4.       the deletion of the original paragraphs (f) and (g);

5.       the deletion of the original paragraph (j) and addition of a new paragraph as follows:-

(j)       ask the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee to consider adding to its work programme, doing further work on Climate Impact Assessment processes and methodologies so that policy options can be compared on an estimated cost per tonne of CO2 saved basis;

6.       the deletion of the original paragraph (l);

7.       the deletion of the original paragraph (m) and addition of a new paragraph as follows:-

(m)     ask the Member Development Working Group to ensure all councillors are offered training on how to understand the carbon impact of policy decisions;

9.3.1

(NOTE: With the agreement of the Council and at the request of the mover of the Amendment (Councillor Andrew Sangar), the Amendment as circulated at the meeting was altered by the deletion of Part 8 of the Amendment.)

9.4

The amendment moved by Councillor Minesh Parekh was put to the vote and was carried, but in part. Part 1, paragraphs (d) and (e) in Part 2, and Parts 3, 4 and 6 of the amendment were carried, and paragraph (f) in Part 2 and Part 5 of the amendment were lost.

9.4.1

(NOTE: The result of the vote was FOR - 67 Members; AGAINST - 0 Members; ABSTENTIONS – 0 Members.  Although Liberal Democrat Group Members voted for, they voted against paragraphs (e) and (f) in Part 2, paragraph (j) in Part 4 and Part 5 of the amendment. Although Green Group Members and Councillor Sophie Wilson voted for, they voted against paragraph (f) in Part 2, paragraph (k) in Part 4 and Parts 5 and 6 of the amendment.)

9.5

The amendment moved by Councillor Andrew Sangar was then put to the vote and was lost, but in part.  Parts 1, 2, 4 and 6 of the amendment were lost and Parts 3, 5 and 7 of the amendment were carried [Part 5 to be an additional sub-paragraph, not a replacement sub-paragraph].

9.5.1

(NOTE: The result of the vote was FOR - 32 Members; AGAINST - 35 Members; ABSTENTIONS – 0 Members. Although Labour Group Members voted against, they voted for Parts 3 and 7 and for Part 5 of the amendment to be an additional sub-paragraph [not a replacement sub-paragraph].)

9.6

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED:  That:-

this Council notes:-

(a)      Sheffield City Council (SCC) has declared a Climate Emergency and a Nature Emergency and has an ambition to become a zero-carbon city by 2030;

(b)      in 2019, The Tyndall Centre produced a report stating that Sheffield City Council must reduce its carbon emissions by 14% each year to achieve zero carbon by 2030;

(c)      the latest 2022 CO2e emissions data indicates that Sheffield City Council has reduced emissions by 3% since 2019, and needs to reduce emissions by a further 77% by 2030 to be in line with the Sheffield-wide 80% reduction on 2019 emissions that the Pathways to Decarbonisation Report suggested could be achievable by 2030;

(d)      that public transport has a crucial role to play in addressing the climate emergency and welcomes plans to bring buses and trams under public ownership, and measures the Council is taking to encourage active travel;

(e)      that Olivia Blake MP has brought the Climate and Ecology Bill to Parliament with cross-party support; the Bill is drafted by many of the UK’s leading climate and ecology scientists and is the only piece of proposed or existing legislation that would tackle the intertwined climate and nature crises together;

this Council believes:-

(f)       Green involvement in the Council Administration has been central to the climate action the Council has taken: from introducing Climate Impact Assessments, to the creation of the Ten Point Plan for Climate Action, to ensuring major schemes like Connecting Sheffield and the Clean Air Zone progress in the face of political opposition;

(g)      that unrelenting action to tackle the climate emergency is the only way to achieve zero carbon by 2030, and the Council should be working at all Policy Committees on urgently reducing emissions;

(h)      that, despite cross party support for net zero, progress has been slow due to the lack of the very substantial investment required to make significant carbon savings, the slow pace of transformation of industries, particularly energy, transport and land use and a dearth of compelling offset opportunities;

(i)       the substantial cash investment required alongside other demands on public funds mean that strong economic growth is required in Sheffield and elsewhere, alongside technological innovation to reduce carbon emissions in better ways;

(j)       the failure of Labour and Green councillors to vote for a food waste recycling service represents an unfortunate missed opportunity to reduce carbon emissions;

(k)      South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority foot dragging over bus franchising and failed bus partnerships have delivered an inferior bus service to the people of Sheffield and kept people in their cars;

(l)       that the Government has utterly failed to provide the necessary funds to tackle the climate emergency;

(m)     that Sheffield’s progress is comparable with other core cities and there has been notable successes including cross-party support for climate action the Council has taken: from introducing Climate Impact Assessments, to the creation of the Ten Point Plan for Climate Action, to ensuring major schemes like Connecting Sheffield and the Clean Air Zone progress, and notes the work currently underway to futureproof our city’s workforce, including the Council-funded upskilling of plumbers and heating engineers in air source heat pump technologies;

(n)      that to reach net zero, the Council should undertake more cross-cutting work, and that requiring Policy Committees to set targets in isolation risks creating siloed working;

this Council resolves to:-

(o)      ask the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee to consider adding to its work programme, implementation of a workplace parking levy to leverage funding for active and public transport at comparable levels to Nottingham City Council, who raised around £680 million over 10 years;

(p)      request the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee to consider adding to its work programme, development of an advertising policy which does not support high carbon industries and products harmful to people and nature, such as promoted by Adfree Cities;

(q)      request the Economic Development and Skills Policy Committee to consider adding to its work programme, the completion of the Green Jobs and Skills Strategy initiated by Greens during the Cooperative Executive;

(r)       call on the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to make more funding available for Green Skills;

(s)      ask the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee to consider adding to its work programme, doing further work on Climate Impact Assessment processes and methodologies so that policy options can be compared on an estimated cost per tonne of CO2 saved basis;

(t)       remind all Policy Committees to ensure the Climate Impact Assessment is used to develop all SCC decisions and actions;

(u)      ask the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee to consider adding to its work programme, an update on progress against the Renewable Energy strategy proposed by Greens in November 2022’s full Council meeting;

(v)      ask the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee to consider adding to its work programme as a matter of urgency, investigation of the practicalities of issuing Green Bonds to raise extra funding to support climate action; and

(w)      ask the Member Development Working Group to ensure all councillors are offered training on how to understand the carbon impact of policy decisions.

9.6.1

(NOTE: The result of the vote on the Substantive Motion was FOR - 66 Members; AGAINST - 1 Member; ABSTENTIONS – 0 Members.  Although Labour Group Members voted for, they voted against paragraphs (f), (o) and (r), and abstained from voting on paragraphs (p) and (q) of the Substantive Motion. Although Liberal Democrat Group Members voted for, they voted against paragraphs (e) and (m) of the Substantive Motion. Although Green Group Members voted for, they voted against paragraphs (h) to (k), (n), (s) and (w) of the Substantive Motion.)